It was August 6th, 1945.

Yachiko was walking over the debris, unable to make out of what happened. Where are her parents? Where are her siblings? Her friends?

Screaming. There wasn’t any screaming. None at all. There were only echoes of the dead. Everything was quiet, but how could, after a single disaster, it be so quiet? Yachiko didn’t know what to do, what to say. She was shaking, unaware of what was happening, unaware of how many people that died. She feels cold...she feels numb.

Her house was gone. Her family was gone. Her friends were gone. Where did they all go? Yachiko was too afraid to see, was too afraid to find out. It was the war, she thought. And She knew it. There was some kind of bomb, or a bakudan, that destroyed her home. It was very common in war times, with all this new technology. But this isn’t possible. She’s heard of bakudans, but there never was one that could do so much damage, to wipe up a whole and complete city off the map.

Her city. Hiroshima. Gone.

Until then, Yachiko knew the truth. It was the Amerikans. It was their entire fault. She knew something like this would happen, no doubt. The Americans were fierce warriors, with all the money, all the land, all the people. Her country was like a little mouse, fighting a large cat. She knew it was impossible to beat them. She knew it was impossible to take over such great country.

Now she could never forgive them. She could never forgive the government. She’d never forgive the Emperor, or the president of the United States, and all the politics out there. Too much war. Too much bloodshed. So many deaths. All these dictators telling lies. Japan was no longer noble. How could this happen? How could the Amerikans do this? How could they have so much power?

Tears threatened to spill. How could she survive? Her father, Otousan, was a war veteran, who lost his right leg to a bomb. Until then, he knew what bombs sounded like if they were ever flown nearby. He was the one that saved her life. The bomb came early in the morning, about 7:40.

“Wake up! Wake up!” Otousan screamed for the whole family in the house to wake. “Sameru, sameru!”

The great sound of an army airplane was heard. Yachiko didn’t want to wake up. She wanted to sleep.

Otousan shook her off from sleep. “Yachiko-san!” He screamed her awake, pulling her down towards the safe basement. Not many Japanese-citizens need it, but Otousan was quite cautious with the war, and their bombs, air raids, kamikazes.

“Otousan?” Father?

“Satsu kudasai!” Please Stay!

Yachiko was so confused, and frightened. Yet she stayed in their ‘basement’, while her father goes out to look and to order the family to stay hidden. There were arguments, confusion, screaming.

Then the explosion.

It was nothing like anyone ever seen. Everything was loud, everything was tense. It felt as if the world was ending. Yachiko could not hear the muffled cries of her family, since they were dead before they could scream. Back there, Yachiko was frightened. She shivered. Everything was suddenly cold, she’s feeling sick and nauseous. So much death. It is too confusing. Did the world end? Yachiko couldn’t know.

What kind of monster could do this? What kind of Oni, or demon, could do such cruel thing?

Yachiko couldn’t take it anymore. She dropped down to her knees.

“N-no...” she whispered, her voice cracking. She was losing her nerve, beginning to cry. She lost everything. She was losing hope. When will this war end? Why did it start? Why fight? Why hate? Why conquer?

Shaking and emotionally moved, Yachiko could only mutter one word through her loose tears...

“...why...?”

Nuclear weapons equals bad!